Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Tweekums The story opens with a man being chased through a typically rocky western landscape; he hides a pair of saddle bags shortly before being attacked by two previously unseen Indians; he is wounded but kills one; the second is killed by the man chasing him. The man running is Greiner, who is wanted for murder and robbery, and his pursuer is Sheriff Lane Dakota who is determined to see him hang. Dakota puts his wounded prisoner on his horse and they ride to the ferry crossing at Apache River.Once over the river they stay overnight at the station along with the Ann Kenyon, who runs the station, the ferryman, Col. Morsby, a veteran of the wars against the Apache who seems to regret not exterminating them and Valerie Kendrick, a woman on her way to meet her fiancé. They haven't been there long before a band of Apaches turn up; they say they want to trade but they also have understandable grievances about how they have been treated. They say they will depart overnight and return to the reservation but in the morning they are still there and demand that the colonel be handed over to them. This doesn't happen and it isn't long before the station is under attack and there is no way to get help; if they are to survive they will have to fight off the attack themselves as their limited supply of ammunition quickly dwindles.This is a fairly standard B-western with a well won plot; that doesn't stop it being entertaining though and the single location gives it a good claustrophobic feel. The characters are the sort one would expect and it isn't too difficult to guess who is going to make it and who won't, based on how good they are as people. Stephen McNally does a decent job as protagonist Lane Dakota and Julie Adams is a delight as Valerie Kendrick, looking fantastic in a series of stunning dresses... I'm surprised she found time to get changed so often though! While the threat is from the Apaches the real villains are the bigoted colonel who wronged them in the first place; Greiner who is determined to evade justice and Mrs. Kenyon who is determined to get away even if it means abandoning the others. The story is really just something to hang the action on and the action is great; it starts in the opening minutes and after a short lull while we are introduced to the characters and their situation it barely lets up until the end. Over all I'd say this is worth watching if you are a fan of the genre... at less than eighty minutes in length it won't waste that much of your time even if you don't enjoy it too much!

dougdoepke Universal made a number of these modestly budgeted Technicolor westerns during the 1950's, usually starring Audie Murphy. Here, it's veteran bad guy McNally in a good guy departure from his usual. The movie starts off with an eye-catching chase across scenic red rock country, but soon moves indoors to the way- station. At that point, the characters multiply and, unfortunately, so does the talk, while the action turns mainly to soap opera with Indian complications.Actually, my main gripe is with the two girls. Unhappy wife Ann (Greene) over-does the unhappy part by looking and acting like she just swallowed a big lemon, while the gorgeous Adams is decked out in enough finery and elaborate eye make-up to impress a queen. Now, I'm ready to suspend some disbelief in a western, knowing how preoccupied Hollywood and its leading ladies' are with glamour, but Adams' glamorized appearance here in the middle of Indian country is little short of ridiculous. The plot itself is a well-worn one of Indians jumping the reservation and attacking whites. It's notable, however, that by the mid-50's Hollywood has been forced to recognize that Indians amount to more than convenient canon fodder for the cavalry. Here, the Apaches are provided recognizably human traits, especially the chief (the blue-eyed Barrier), while the cavalryman colonel (Marlowe) comes across as cruel and blood thirsty, certainly a reversal of the usual.Given all the character complications, it's too bad the studio didn't assign a director more attuned to dramatics. Instead, director Sholem moves the dialog along in pretty bland fashion, draining away whatever intensity and suspense is in the script. All in all, it's a pretty undistinguished western, one that I doubt would have improved even in its original 3-D.

chipe I gave it a 7 rating. It certainly deserved more than the 4.8 user rating given it at this point.I was impressed with the high production values, which could be so high for a B Western because there was mainly just one locale -- a stagecoach way station beside a ferry crossing. I liked the substantial cast of well-known actors, the photography, costumes (especially gorgeous Julia Adams in tight-fitting gowns, yum), music, dialog, etc. The overall story was certainly weak. The fast moving story and all the characters and interrelationships made for an enjoyable movie.There is a lot to say on the negative side. You need a lot of "suspension of disbelief" to tolerate the movie. The whites are surrounded and outnumbered by Indians in the stage depot. Everything is against them. In this dire situation, they are lucky that the Indians just want the Colonel to promise not to pursue the Indians for what some renegade Indians did. But the crazy hateful Colonel thinks Indians are always guilty, and says some people have the burden to prove that they are innocent! He won't make that promise. Eventually the Indian chief says it is enough for the Colonel to accompany the Indians back to the reservation, and then he can leave with no promise about returning or not. But the Colonel refuses, so the one-sided battle begins, but incredibly the good guy and his girl fight/kill the Indians to practically the last man standing.The movie also contained silly soap opera relationships between the characters. The soap opera could have been worse and did add to the interest.

NewEnglandPat This minor western spins the familiar theme of the U.S cavalry's attempt to return Indians to their reservation or face punitive measures. There's nothing new here at all and the thin story line has more to do with marital strife than cavalry-Indian hostilities. Most of the picture takes place at a stage depot where the troopers manage to capture a chief and hold him as a bargaining chip for their safe passage through the Indian lines. The action consists of long range rifle shots and Indian fire arrows, but the movie has more dialogue than action. The besieged whites display more resolve than the Indians in settling the dispute, which results in a rather predictable ending. Stephen McNally stars as a sheriff and has a good supporting cast including Julie Adams, Hugh O'Brian and Jack Kelly, but the weak plot spoils what could have been a decent western adventure.